Teresa Mackay, Ipswich Socialist Party
“My fight for justice is finally over. After 34 years, I can start my life as an innocent man.” These were the words of Oliver Campbell after his recent appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Three judges decided that his 1991 conviction for murder of shopkeeper Baldev Singh Hoondle could not stand.
In questioning, Oliver was “badgered and bullied by the police and his absurd admissions [used to convict him] contained a litany of inconsistencies with the facts”, his barrister Michael Birnbaum KC told the court.
The Lord Chief Justice said: “We accept that, considered in the light of fresh evidence the rulings might have been different. A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would consider the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context. We cannot say the fresh evidence could not have affected the decision of the jury to convict.” He also mentioned that it would be a heavy blow to the Hoondle family, but the courts must reach their “decisions in accordance with the law, uninfluenced by emotion.” Oliver also feels for the family and hopes that the real perpetrator is brought to justice for their sake.
Hopefully, the ruling will put more pressure on the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which first rejected his pleas in 2005. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it respected the judgment but added: “The judges rejected seventeen grounds of appeal. The convictions were only quashed based on new evidence about Oliver Campbell’s mental state when he confessed. Understanding of the factors which may contribute to a false confession has increased.”
Oliver has a learning disability as a result of a brain injury as a child, which the CPS says was not properly understood or explained at the trial. After 48 hours of questioning, Oliver began to believe he must have committed the murder, despite being nowhere near the scene when it happened!
Youth against Racism in Europe
Oliver’s case first became known to the Socialist Party (then Militant Labour) through the Youth against Racism in Europe (YRE) campaign in 1992. This was one of several major injustices, along with those facing Winston Silcott of the Tottenham Three, the M25 Three, and others, that the YRE was involved in. While many other convictions were eventually overturned, Oliver’s case was not. Oliver was sent to nine different prisons in the 11 years he was incarcerated.
I collaborated closely with the TV programme Rough Justice and Oliver’s solicitors to put his case in an episode called ‘If the Cap Fits’, pertaining to the fact that Oliver’s cap had been stolen from him by one of the two men who went on to commit the robbery and murder.
The cap was found close to where the murder had taken place. Oliver saw the cap on Crimewatch and went back to the shop to check it was his. The other man who was convicted of the crime admitted in the Rough Justice programme that Oliver was not his accomplice.
Kirsty Wark, the presenter of the BBC programme, stated that it was the most blatant injustice she had ever seen. Oliver was subsequently released on licence.
Due to the determination and resolve of Oliver and his supporters, the fight continued. ‘Double jeopardy’ came in as part of the Criminal Justice Act in 2005, which allowed for retrying of people acquitted of a crime. A lot of the evidence in Oliver’s case, which was so badly presented at his original trial, could not be used again. Oliver’s legal team presented fresh evidence, which was rejected several times, making it harder to present his case.
Sandy Martin, the local Labour MP between 2017 and 2019, knew Oliver and was asked by Oliver’s solicitor Glyn Maddocks to present the case to Parliament, which he did. It was then presented back to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
Oliver’s case is just one of a long list of miscarriages of justice. There should be a public inquiry to establish why a man so clearly innocent had to wait almost 34 years for his conviction to be overturned. Also, to get to the bottom of why the arresting officers pursued Oliver so strongly when no one, let alone a police officer, would believe that Oliver could commit such a crime.
Oliver’s case took place before the horrific racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. After which, it took the Metropolitan Police over 16 years to admit being institutionally racist.
There is much more to this case than just Oliver’s horrendous experience of witness intimidation that needs to be exposed.
Oliver could have helped the police identify the perpetrators rather than become the sacrificial lamb. Asked after he received the news of his acquittal whether this had restored his faith in the British justice system, Oliver said: “no”.
He can now restart his life as a free man, which will allow him to travel without having to get the permission from his probation officer, including travelling abroad. However, there is still no guarantee of compensation, even though he spent nearly 34 years of his life perceived by the establishment as murderer.
